Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder is going back to the drawing board as he tries to balance the upcoming city budget.
Langfelder has reintroduced his proposal for a four-percent natural gas tax in the city, with proceeds to go toward pension payments. That ordinance will be on first reading this Tuesday. At the same time, Langfelder is asking aldermen to reconsider the quarter-percent sales tax increase they rejected earlier this month.
As the budget fight continues, two Springfield aldermen found themselves locked out of City Hall this week… but Mayor Jim Langfelder’s office says it was just a misunderstanding.
The State Journal-Register reports Aldermen Ralph Hanauer and Jim Donelan found their building access cut off… just a couple of days after Langfelder and the City Council clashed over the city budget. Langfelder’s office says the mayor is cutting down on the number of people who can get in the building after hours… but says the exclusion of the aldermen was merely an oversight.